Recovery
by emoticon1234
Summary: Five years after the destruction of the house, Josh still has a hard time letting go of Sally and Aidan. How will he manage his grief after he is in an unfortunate accident?


It had been five years. Five years since the flames had consumed the place he and Nora had called home. Five years since they had been parted from the best friends that they would ever have. Since Sally had so selflessly given up her afterlife to save Aidan and Aidan had in turn given up the final hours of his renewed life to save he and Nora. And it was on this night that they would venture back to Boston, drive past that empty lot that realtors couldn't seem to pay anyone to take off their hands, look up and imagine where it used to be. Then, they would keep driving, go to dinner and spend the evening remembering their friends. Tomorrow they would wake up and put the memories away again for another year.

Josh walked into their bedroom and saw Nora staring into the vanity, her eyes swimming with meaning. He walked softly over to her, trying not to disturb her thoughts, and kissed her bare shoulder where her dress hadn't been completely zipped. She started slightly, but relaxed into his embrace as he wrapped his arms tenderly around her waist. He released her and finished zipping her dress as she turned to look in his eyes.

"Ready?" he asked her softly. She nodded quietly and together they headed down the stairwell. Giggling could be heard from the living room as Josh's sister, Emily, pinned down their twins. Emily looked up at her brother and sister-in-law and smiled.

"You sure you'll be ok?" Josh asked tentatively, concern flashing in his eyes. "They've been going through a bit of a….biting phase."

Emily rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I'll be fine, Josh. Just go, enjoy yourselves. I can handle a couple of puppies."

"Har har. Just…call if you need anything," he replied, trepidation still in his voice. Nora smiled at him, pulling him out the door gently.

"Thanks for watching them tonight, Em," she said before closing the door. As they pulled out of the drive they could see their children waving from the window.

"You sure she'll be fine," Josh asked, echoing his earlier statement. Apprehensions showed through his tone as they headed down the road.

"Josh, she's been watching them for years. We're lucky to have a babysitter that they love so much," she replied, smiling again.

"Nora, at this point in our lives I think we're just lucky our children haven't decided to eat the mailman yet." She chuckled a bit and dropped the subject.

Josh loved his family more than anything, but something about this night always brought back a glimmer of his younger self, fraught with worries and self-doubt.

The rest of the ride gradually diminished from small talk about each other's day to a tense silence the closer they got to the city. They finished with their yearly pilgrimage and spent much of their dinner in silence. Nora had that deep look in her eyes again, as she mechanically finished her meal, but now she turned her gaze to Josh and as he started to ask what was on her mind she interrupted him.

"What are we doing?" The question was full with meaning and he looked at her across the table. "It's been five years, Josh. Why do we keep beating ourselves up every year?"

"Nora," he said softly.

"No, Josh. This isn't what they would have wanted, especially since we have the benefit of knowing they are together and happy somewhere." There was a look in her eyes that told Josh that Nora had thought on this for a while. It had built inside of her much like steam in a pressure cooker until she could contain her thoughts no longer.

"We can't….We can't forget about them," he said. It was difficult to find the right words and he didn't have the advantage of contemplation like Nora had.

"Josh, moving on isn't the same as forgetting. We'll never forget them, but normal people leave flowers on their graves, not…whatever it is we're doing. This isn't healthy. We need to stop grieving and look at what we have right in front of us. It's everything they wanted for us and if we don't embrace it, then their sacrifice means nothing. They wanted us to live our lives the best we could, and we need to start doing that."

"You don't understand," he said curtly, growing silent. He slammed the money for the bill down on the table and stood. Nora followed him, trying desperately to get him to talk to her.

"What don't I understand, Josh?" she implored, her voice softening from earlier. He shook off her hand and quickened his pace. She knew where he was heading as he outstripped her. When she finally managed to catch up to him, he was standing across from it. There was still the outline of where the old house used to stand, the foundation a different color than the concrete they had used to fill in the basement. A shimmer of glass lay on the ground, but whether it remained from the demolished windows of the house or was from a broken bottle was anyone's guess.

Josh started to walk across the road, between the cars neatly parked on the curb, and Nora tried one last time to reach out to him.

"Josh," she pleaded, just loudly enough for him to hear. He paused, taking his gaze from the house and glanced back at her. And then it happened.

* * *

><p>A flash of white and a ringing in his ears and Josh opened his eyes. The light was the sun shining brightly through his blinds. He covered his eyes with his hand and groaned. The ringing was his alarm clock, which he promptly hit the snooze button on with his free hand. He stretched and yawned, swinging his legs out of bed and bringing his feet to rest on the chill wooden floor.<p>

He got around and as he showered, the pipes made the familiar clang that he remembered. He stopped himself mid-thought. Remembered? That was a strange way to word it. A gentle nagging pulled at the back of his mind, but he silenced it almost as soon as it had appeared. He was just tired. He ruffled the towel over his wet hair and wandered downstairs.

"You know, it wouldn't hurt to call a plumber," he called out as he entered the kitchen but stopped himself mid sentence. "Aw, c'mon guys, I just cleaned that table!" Sally sat on the wooden top while Aidan kissed her passionately. "You have two rooms, and you can't use one?" Aidan stepped back slightly while Sally kept her hands intertwined behind his neck.

"Oh, c'mon Josh, we've heard plenty worse from your room. Especially when it gets close to your _time of the month_," Sally teased.

"Yeah, my room. Where my bed is. Not where we all eat," he complained, but there was a smile in his voice. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to actually get some coffee before I have to go meet up with Nora this morning."

"We were making some breakfast, if you wanted some," Sally smiled, hopping to the floor and walking to his side.

"Aside from the obvious sanitation issues, I think I'll pass. You both seem a little…distracted," he said, pouring the fragrant coffee into his mug.

Josh had barely begun to sip on it when Aidan interjected, "Don't worry, we've got all morning." He grabbed Sally playfully around the middle and she let out a small shriek followed by a giggle.

"Gross. With that, I'm out," Josh said, setting his nearly full cup into the sink. He made his way through the living room and stepped onto the landing.

His feet had barely touched the pavement of the sidewalk before his vision suddenly blurred and his head began to pound. He felt ringing in his ears again, but this time it wasn't his alarm clock, and the world felt like it was spinning on the head of a top. Now not just ringing was in his ears, but also a voice. A familiar voice he couldn't seem to place. It was calling something but he couldn't quite make out the words. It just sounded like a garbled mess. He clutched his head and tried to get his bearings. Everything was double in his vision and he couldn't seem to focus on anything but the door he had just exited. It stood out in surprising clarity and so with what strength he could muster he bolted back into the house. He slammed the door behind him, his heart threatening to burst through this heaving chest. Suddenly the world snapped back into focus. That nagging feeling started to tug at his mind again as he wondered what the hell had just happened.

* * *

><p>Nora stared for a second in disbelief. One second she had seen her husband glance back at her and the next, she watched as he was struck by a car. She watched his legs crumple underneath him as he flew over the hood, striking the windshield in the process, and then watched as he rolled backed to the ground like a rag doll. She willed her legs forward as the driver opened the door. She was just a young woman, no more than twenty-three or twenty-four.<p>

"Oh my god," the girl gasped, placing her hand over her mouth. "Oh my god." She looked back and forth from Nora to Josh who lay unresponsive on the ground. She started to shake violently. "He just…he came out of nowhere."

Nora's brain was reeling, but her medical training kicked in. The girl was starting to cry hysterically. There wasn't time for this. Nora took her by the shoulders and shook her slightly until she had her attention. "Listen to me. Call 911." At first the girl looked blankly at her, but she was startled into fumbling in her purse as Nora yelled, "Do it. Now!" She shakily dialed as Nora started to assess Josh. She tried to ignore the identity of the body that lay before her on the ground and tried to pretend he was any other trauma patient. His leg lay at an awkward angle and there was blood. So much blood.

"911, what's your emergency?"

Nora snatched the phone from the girl, her voice calm and not betraying the turmoil she felt inside. "We need an ambulance to 123 Westchester Drive. Victim was a pedestrian struck by a moving vehicle. Unresponsive male in his early 30's. Contusions to the head, face and chest." She moved her hands gingerly over his body, feeling his neck, "Breathing is irregular, pulse 45 and weak, respiration 9 times per minute. Legs and pelvis deformed, possible tibia fractures. Possible head trauma. Victim is losing a lot of blood. Hemorrhagic shock suspected."

"We're sending a unit your way," the dispatcher said gravely.

"Please, hurry," Nora said starting to lose the calm façade.

"Can you stay on the line?" she barely heard as she had already shoved the phone back to the girl. The girl started to rapidly explain the situation. A crowd was starting to gather and Nora found her breathing starting to hitch as she sat next to Josh on the cold asphalt, bits of glass surrounding them. "Please Josh, please. Please," she pleaded. Sirens could be heard, and soon an EMT shoved her roughly to the side. Josh was placed on a backboard and a mask was attached to his face. The EMT repeated much of what she had already gathered.

"Are you related to the victim?" The EMT said, taking her shoulders to focus her. Her cheeks were hot and sticky with tears she hadn't realized were falling.

"I'm his wife," she managed to get out. Next she was brusquely hoisted into the ambulance and they were off, rushing Josh (she could barely think his name) to the hospital.


End file.
